Laughing Corpses
by mechanical-rain
Summary: Orochimaru feels like breaking himself into a thousand pieces...he laughs in the faces of the corpses he leaves in his wake while inside he screams, but can he laugh in the face of a matching soul? yaoi, ita-oro, AUish, considering adding a new chapter
1. Chapter 1 Growing tired of this

**ooohhh kay then.... first submitted story that i had to re do once because this submitting form is...special.**

**orochimaru and itachi are not mine, they belong to Kishimoto Masashi. how do you know for certain? because this story right here never happened... those two would be going at it like bunnies if i wrote it....**

**oro/ita pairing.... oro-uke... lemon.. yaoi... blah blach blah.... reveiw please.**

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Orochimaru slowly tipped his head back to stare up at the blackened sky, the deep, bruise colored clouds pouring liquid tears down his face and through his silk black hair. He blinked the golden, snake slit orbs once when a raindrop fell into them, and then eased the thin purple lid over them, turning his head slowly to relish the feeling of the water as it cascaded across his shoulders and washed the partially dried blood from his alabaster skin. Corpses lay like so many broken dolls around his feet, flesh ripped open in places and the pale white of bone occasionally showing through. Their mouths gaped in silent, frozen screams and blank eyes stared up at Orochimaru with fear and accusation.

The snake lord lowered his head again, bowing it against the cold seeping through his shirt as the gold eyes slid open just enough to survey his audience. He hated it- those looks they would give him. How he loved the fear, fed on it, thrived on it- but why did they all look at him with that accusing expression? How dare they….

Orochimaru wasn't aware of having moved, but he knew that quite suddenly he had stolen a kukri from a nearby guard, and began to rip off any remaining masks that any of them had. He went to each and every one of his victims and carved out their eyes, grinning as the sharp, wickedly curved blade dove into the soft tissue and twisted until darkened blood ran anew down their faces, splattered across his cheek and stained the already tainted ground.

They had no idea what he'd been through, no idea of the horror that was slowly building in his chest. He wanted to scream and to rage, to cry or perhaps to destroy. He could not die- he didn't want to; he wouldn't let himself fade into that unknowing and ungraceful abyss. Was there a Hell? Orochimaru didn't know, and the sannin was not used to not knowing…

He slowly stood and dropped the kukris, bitter rage slowly escalated to a burning fury that set his eyes alight with inner fire, and his long fingers curled into tight fists, ignoring the protesting squelch of the blood on his skin as it was pressed. He refused, as only he could, and he rebelled against fate itself…. He would not fall like these shattered toys around him, these weak people who couldn't even fight their own mortality. Orochimaru would find his own way without help… he would remain alone in this world for as long as it existed, becoming the ever present entity of everything. He would learn all there was to know, and when there was no more he would make more. Orochimaru could not be restrained, could not be leashed, and these fools had no idea what he was really capable of.

They weren't accusing him now, they didn't pretend to understand him now… Orochimaru ground his sharp fangs into his pale bottom lip, drawing his own blood in some effort to stay sane, to keep these thoughts from ravaging his mind and snapping every grip he ever had on control.

Behind his constant malice and the cold glaze of his smugly narrowed eyes, there was always humor. Even now in this moment of utmost rage, Orochimaru could feel the laughter threatening to catch up and subdue him. A small chuckle escaped from his lips and the blood drenched shoulders shook with mirth, but that little vent allowed far too much to escape, and soon Orochimaru had tipped back his head and was laughing quite hysterically. His insanity peaked and the sound became sinister, a loud crescendo of pure and instable emotion that locked his slanted eyes shut and rocked through his body, pulling up every ounce of fear and anger, the superiority and the sheer madness of it all. Here he was, and he was to be a God. No one would ever manage to catch him, no one could keep up and even as the crushing weight of loneliness fell into Orochimaru's chest like stone, he was left gasping for air. The fair skinned ninja arched forward, his serpent like body contorting as he began to hyperventilate to try and pull some kind of reassurance into his body from the oxygen around him.

Only his reflexes saved him…

Orochimaru heard the faint whistle on the air of metal through rain and whipped himself around, snapping up one of his hands and all traces of madness had drained from his face. The smirk was back, laced with malevolence and a promise of swift death to whomever had been observing him this entire time. The pale fingers latched around the handle of the kunai and he spun it deftly around to palm it and searched for his attacker. He didn't see him at first, but gradually he made out the dark figure between the trees that stood so very still and observant. The sannin spotted crimson eyes, a fiery red that he found almost alluring in their strength and power. Golden orbs swept over the dark figure, taking in the red cloud shapes down the body that were distorted by the rain and furrowed his brow a little when he realized just how tedious the storm was making this for him. When the figure spoke, Orochimaru inwardly grinned- words he could handle, words he was already the master of.

"You've destroyed all the anbu they sent after you…." The voice- which Orochimaru very soon marked as being distinctly male- sounded out. There was boredom to it, an idleness that the snake found infuriating, so much in fact that the pale ninja turned on his heel and began to walk away without a word.

Orochimaru lifted his eyes to the direction he was heading in now, stepping carelessly over a body and then hesitated when he discovered the cloaked figure to be quite directly in front of him. Aggravated, the sannin opened his mouth and let out a fearsome hiss that normally would have had a lesser person cowering before him, or at least getting out of his way. This man did neither, but leaned a little closer to peer more deeply into the indignant sun colored eyes, and Orochimaru recoiled from him, pressing his lips together into a disapproving line.

"What do you want?" he finally snapped, giving this man two minutes to become interesting or he'd rid out those piercing, fascinating red eyes and go on his way.

"What's your name?" he asked instead, and Orochimaru finally recalled where he'd seen those familiar eyes before.

"Uchiha." He grunted in surprise, stepping back over the body he'd already hopped over once, but this time in the opposite direction to get some space in between them. The sannin wasn't frightened in the slightest, quite the contrary, but he needed space to get a better look at him.

"I already know my name, but I believe I asked for yours. Why did you kill these people?" he wondered, like the two of them were discussing the currently dismal weather, and not Orochimaru's motives while surrounded by the no longer watchful dead.

"Self defense." The words slipped free of his mouth without thinking about them, a mocking sneer darkening his features as rain dripped from ebony bangs onto porcelain smooth flesh, "You're Itachi aren't you… Itachi Uchiha the traitor… how tragic that you should encounter me in such an unpleasant mood… pass by, and leave me in my musings. That's your only warning my attractive friend…."

The weasel inclined his head curiously, beseeching the serpent to continue but when the cunning creature didn't, Itachi allowed himself to press further, "and what will you do if I refuse? I've been following you for a while now…"

"Excuse me? Is that supposed to be flattering?" Orochimaru's feminine lips turned down ever so slightly but his smile did not waver by much, his eyes hardening and becoming far more calculating than before. Itachi was stroking a cobra, and the snake had not yet decided if he wanted to sink his fangs into that barely concealed tanned throat. That skin looked so soft, and Orochimaru could smell its light fragrance even from here, a sort of jasmine like scent that threatened to draw him closer than he wanted to be.

Much to his disappointment, the Uchiha did not reply but the engaging red eyes slid over Orochimaru's body, either deciding just how much of the blood was the sannins or perhaps just admiring. The snake subconsciously rolled his slim hips a little, one hand gliding down the smooth curve of his side and took a languid step back to get greater distance between them. He was showing off and part of him knew it, but none of him understood why. He loved to be thought of as beautiful certainly, but he was currently cloaked as heavily in blood as he was clothes, soaking wet with his usually silky and full hair slicked down his back and shoulders, so he wasn't sure what he hoped to accomplish by this. When Itachi continued to remain silent, Orochimaru gave a huffed scoff and turned to stride off, tired of the rain seeping through to his skin and of this man who refused to be goaded into doing something worth watching or reacting to.

Turning away had proved to be a mistake, and Orochimaru paid for it as his slender wrist was yanked up behind his back and twisted until a soft hiss of pain escaped him. He could feel the hard planes of the man's chest against his back, and the second arm was tight around his long neck, gradually choking off his air. In combat, Orochimaru's speed couldn't be matched and his strikes were either fatal or intentionally wounding just to be playful, but this man who had a hold of him was physically powerful and had a crippling grip on the snake. He turned to the only defense he had at that point, writhing and squirming against the Uchiha until he got a good enough angle, sinking his sharp fangs through the black fabric of a sleeve into the succulent flesh below. He tasted blood- nothing terribly new to him, and the scent of jasmine sharpened with his face so close to the soft skin. A grunt of pain rewarded him, followed by a gust of hot breath against his ear that shocked him into hesitating just a moment. The moment was long enough, and Orochimaru didn't have time to so much as curse himself for the lapse in attention as a sharp blow cracked the back of his neck and he felt his body go limp. His mouth released from Itachi's arm and he collapsed, held up in a strong grip with his head lolled back so the rain whipped at his bared neck. His mind was the last thing to go, slipping gradually into darkness even as he fought like a demon to keep himself awake, and yet he was only aware of Itachi beginning to run before he knew nothing more.

And still, Orochimaru remained on the brink of laughter….

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The first thing that Orochimaru was aware of was that he was cold. That wasn't a terribly strange occurrence, but the following realization that he didn't know where he was jarred him from the shallow sleep to a full alertness. He growled, shifting against the hard wooden floor and attempted to reach up and rub away the soreness of his neck only to find his wrists tightly bound with chakra restraints. He slid open his eyes just to glare at them, twitching his mostly asleep fingers and curled on himself until he could roll onto his back and stare at the black ceiling. In fact… everything here was black- or perhaps it was just dark? Orochimaru grunted at the obviousness of this- of course it was black if the damned light had been turned off. He slid his eyes closed once more to clear his head and push aside the subtle throbbing in the back of his head, piecing together what he remembered of the events leading up to the moment.

By the time he woke again, without having been aware that he'd fallen asleep, he was warm. This was a much more pleasant wake up than before, so Orochimaru allowed himself a few seconds to wriggle his shoulder blades against the soft silk of the blanket, alerting him to the newly discovered fact that his shirt was missing. He turned his head to look around the room, which was fairly plain and resembled a cabin of sorts. This was the living room but there was no furniture, just the fireplace to his left that had been lit and was throwing its ghastly red and orange light into the room. He scowled and raised his head enough to look down at himself, having to wiggle quite a bit before he could move the blanket that was on him enough to see he still had his pants on, so set his head back down and quietly seethed.

Itachi would pay for this humiliation…. Orochimaru would kill him slowly- he'd heat up kunai in the light of the fire and slid the red hot blade into the Uchiha's soft… jasmine scented, luscious tanned flesh and…

Wait a moment… his mind was straying…

"What's your name?" the soft voice asked him for the second time that evening, and Orochimaru almost broke his neck with the restraint he was exerting to not jerk his head around in surprise. Just by the sound, he recognized that Itachi was somewhere in the shadowed corner of the room that Orochimaru couldn't see, so that would have been why he hadn't sensed him right away.

"Where are my things, uchiha?" Orochimaru asked back, his own tone was mockingly polite and simple, deliberately barbing him but again the infuriating man didn't take the bait.

"Drying out. Tell me your name." finally though; there was a touch of impatience that sent a shudder of delight through the serpents' spine.

"Come over here where I can see you and I'll tell you…" the sannin invited, the slick pale tongue moving out to wet his lips and then withdrew back into his mouth- not quite ready to reveal its potency as a weapon just yet. He didn't need chakra for that at least….

Itachi granted him this, walking over with soft footfalls of his near silent feet and crouched by Orochimaru's side. The sannin was quite surprised to see suppressed lust behind those now dark and smoldering gray/black eyes but it gave him an idea nonetheless.

"Orochimaru." The sly man responded finally, lowering his voice to a seducing whisper and intentionally narrowed his golden eyes, letting them catch the fire light like he knew they would. He was well aware how expressive he could make his face, and now he let it ooze the promise of pleasure to try and beckon the Uchiha within striking range.

"Orochimaru, then." Itachi repeated, tasting how the name sounded it seemed and the captive felt another shiver trace across his skin at hearing his dubbing cross over the Uchiha's gentle pink lips, "I've been following you…"

"Yeah, you mentioned that already." Orochimaru agreed, tearing his eyes from the kissable lips and back up to the eyes, which were guarded and quiet looking now, but held an inner kind of turmoil that Orochimaru often associated with the making of a hard decision, "are you planning on telling me why? Or perhaps why you've kidnapped me? Either would be an acceptable start…"

"I want you to set me free…"

"What? I wasn't aware that you were the one bound… see, I was under the impression that I was currently the one lying bound and shirtless." Orochimaru teased, smirking just a little but it wavered when Itachi took a hold of his jaw and held tightly. Their faces were closer now, and the sannin couldn't avoid looking into the deep and consuming, tepid pools of blackness. So few eyes were truly black, but Itachi's were, and Orochimaru found himself at a loss as to what he should say- a rare occurrence indeed, his sharp tongue hadn't ever failed him before.

"You can do it, I can see the power in your eyes and I can see the loneliness there…" Orochimaru jerked his head with an indignant sound but Itachi held fast and continued like he hadn't just tried to interrupt his words, "I've been watching you for weeks and I want you… gods how I want you, and you will let me have you."

"I don't do well in relationships where I'm not the possessive one." Orochimaru sounded back, purely to cover up his ever increasing shock.

Itachi gave out a pleasant sounding laugh, soft as velvet against Orochimaru's ears, "otokage… for the first time in your life, you're going to save someone tonight. Doesn't that please you? Doesn't that make your hair stand on end in pleasure and a moan rise in your throat?" he questioned, his fingers moving down to caress the snake's neck, but the other male found himself suddenly on edge.

It wasn't what Itachi was doing necessarily, but those eyes had changed. He recognized pain with them, and such a dangerous expression of both outrage and desperation that for the second him he had nothing to say. This Uchiha was telling him that Orochimaru belonged to him, that there was no acceptable way for the serpent to deny the weasel, and the akatsuki member was in control. He didn't have to understand it- Itachi was going to make him understand just why he felt that very same ripping pain of being trapped inside, why laughter was on his tongue even though he wanted to sob and tear at the ground until his nails ripped free…

When those soft, pink lips touched his own, Orochimaru had still been too deep in thought to retaliate, and once he'd come back found that he rather enjoyed it. The jasmine scent was teasing his nose and a tongue weaker than his own but far more insistent pulled his bottom lip between teeth. Orochimaru responded automatically, opening his mouth to let this foreign tongue into the lair of his own, which rose to welcome him in and wound themselves together. He was acutely aware that Itachi's hands were exploring his chest, tickling like butterfly kisses across his ribs and smoothing over the alabaster flesh until they found a nipple. Orochimaru gasped a little and Itachi pulled his face away, the sannin glaring and about to lean up and latch their mouths together again before he felt the hot breath on his chest. He held very still, and then tipped his head back as a heated tongue lapped at the same nipple his hand had been at before and the pink lips wrapped around to suck at it. He gave similar treatment to the other nipple, lightly biting this one so Orochimaru arched his back, pressing his bare chest against the akatsuki cloak invitingly and gave a purr of delight when the fabric was removed.

Itachi took a hold of Orochimaru's bound wrists and moved them up over his head out of the way as the skilled fingers of his free hand knotted and stroked through Orochimaru's dark mane, mussing it until it lay in waves around his face. Lust filled golden eyes stared back, and Itachi wasn't surprised to find there was no blush on this man- but that didn't matter to him now. He'd watched the snake far too long and now he wanted him for himself. Tonight was to show the sannin that he'd become property, and Itachi would release him only to find him again, and repeat this until Orochimaru wanted no one else. The uchiha would make himself a drug, an addiction for an addiction and without a cure between them.

Orochimaru grew impatient with the dark look of thought on Itachi's face and raised his hips, grinding them against the other males and drawing a sharp breath from him as the snake's hardened sex brushed his own. Their lips clashed again with more force this time, persisting as their tongues battled for dominance even if Orochimaru had already consented to the fact that he was loosing, feminine hips pressing and shifting against the akatsuki to draw out heated breaths of passion between them and subtle tinges of pain as their clothes restrained their throbbing erections. When Itachi could stand this no longer, he released Orochimaru's hands in favor of removing the sannin's pants, discarding them without a care and smoothed his kisses across a slim thigh to watch the other male squirm with want. He admired the view from here, following the engorged manhood to Orochimaru's navel and back again, moving his mouth closer in to lick lightly at the slit to see how he'd react.

His reward was a breathy growl, and Itachi smirked when he noticed that the other was biting his bottom lip to restrain any sound, his head tipped back and eyes closed as his cock strained towards the Uchiha's mouth, weeping with invitation. Itachi parted his lips, flicking his tongue at the slit a few more times and finally took the head into his mouth, his hands becoming a vice on Orochimarus's hips when the sannin began to buck his hips involuntarily, swallowing him down to the base of his shaft and back up. He sucked hard several times, playing the soft skin with his skilled tongue and soon set a pace for the sannin to match, his eyes flashing with triumph when a groan escaped from his mate. Itachi bobbed his head up and down, releasing his cock to lick at the head and back in again, one of his hands kneading his fingers across Orochimaru's balls. When he sensed the sannin's body becoming tense to signal the nearing of his climax, Itachi pulled back and almost laughed at the scathing look of disappointment he was given, but held his fingers to his mouth and nodded approvingly when the surprisingly long tongue slunk out to wrap around and coat them with saliva. Itachi knew his own sex was rather large so saliva was only a crude coating for it, but it would work well enough to serve the purpose today. Itachi watched, enthralled and Orochimaru knew it as the muscle snaked its way over his knuckles, between his fingers and back to the nails again, but snapped himself out of it to pull his hand back and slid it under to cup his lovers' ass and prod his index at Orochimaru's entrance. The hips shifted again under his supporting hand when the finger entered but Itachi could find no traces of pain on the snakes face. In fact, their eyes were locked together and challenging even as a second digit was entered and then scissored to stretch him further. By the third finger though, Orochimaru was getting uncomfortable and wriggled a little under Itachi- much to his amusement so he continued to move them around until he found the spot he was looking for. He knew when he found the sensitive prostate, because the golden eyes flew open wider and that succulent mouth opened to let out a moan of pure ecstasy that Itachi responded with by removing his hand and striped off the remainder of his clothing. Orochimaru stared, as he had figured he would, scrutinizing the large, hardened sex with some measure of doubt but wasn't allowed any sort of protest as the dark eyed man gently nudged his knees further apart.

Itachi granted Orochimaru no mercy, pushing his cock in to its hilt and dug his nails into the older man's hips to keep him still and stop him from recoiling. The mouth opened again but this time what came out was an equally alluring cry of discomfort- but as much as Itachi enjoyed it he still kept his position to wait. Moans issued, and the Uchiha moved his lips over the serpents to swallow the sounds into his own mouth, followed by another tongue war to distract him while they grew accustomed to the feel of each other. When the fiery eyes became hard and challenging again, and the long, pale legs had wrapped around his waist to lock ankles at his lower back, he smirked.

"Move, Uchiha…" Orochimaru very nearly snarled, and Itachi almost laughed again but he followed the others instruction. He started off slow at first, rocking his hips to pull almost all of the way back out and thrusting back in again, loving the way that Orochimaru's body moved against his and met every shift he made, "harder…"

"Beg…" Itachi responded in a breathy whisper by his ear, knowing just how much the order would grate on the sannin's nerves and loving it.

"Bite me…"

"Is that a request? I told you to beg…." Itachi deliberately stopped moving, though it took a great deal of self control to do so, but he only stayed that way until Orochimaru whimpered and bucked his hips in an attempt to get the friction back.

"Fuck…."

"Orochimaru…. I can wait here all night."

"You bastard…."

"What's the magic word?" Itachi knew he was pushing it- but damn it was fun to prod at this powerful man's ego… he couldn't help himself.

To his surprise, that bottom lip stuck out a little more in an adorable pouted and the golden eyes glistened up at him with need, "please Itachi…. Please move…."

Well, Itachi couldn't really say no to that face, so he allowed himself to begin the rhythm once more, pumping into Orochimaru as he nibbled the soft tissue of the snake's ear lobe.

The pace gradually picked up, and soon the two of them were shuddering and rocking together, Itachi's breaths coming out in hot pants against the pale neck and Orochimaru's head turned back a bit. He dropped his restrained hands to make a loop around Itachi's neck and moaned aloud when a warm hand found his cock again, pumping in time with his thrusts. Orochimaru gave a gentle whine as the heat pooled somewhere in the region of his navel, building up until it snapped and he came across their stomachs, Itachi following soon after with a few more well places thrusts. They rode out their orgasms and finally the Uchiha stopped, his hands on the blanket on either side of Orochimaru's ribs to hold himself up but the limbs were shaking with the amount of energy it was taking. The sannin let his arms fall back again so his hands were above his head and looked through half lidded eyes at Itachi, wincing only a little when the man pulled out from him to collapse at his side and pull the blanket over them both. He watched the play of firelight over his skin and frowned, but couldn't find the energy or the will to lash out at him.

Perhaps belonging to someone wasn't as bad as he'd once thought……

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**reviews desired....flamers will be poitned and laughed at**


	2. Chapter 2 Sleep so soundly

**orochimaru and itachi are not mine, they belong to Kishimoto Masashi and he wont let me take them home no matter how often i ask so...**

**but this story is mine. Chapter two of Laughing corpses. Spoilers near the end, and there will be spoilers in the next chapter....yeah... warned.**

**oro/ita still... little bit of yaoi in this one, lemony-freshness.... still rated M.... and mild cursing.... *points accusingly at orochimaru, who shrugs and ignores me***

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"Where are my reports?" The low growl issued from Orochimaru's lips with nothing short of annoyance and a kind of mocking humor, like he was trying to be polite but could not quite grasp what that meant. He watched in mild amusement as the flustered doctor tore through his drawers searching for the report he'd forgotten to give his master concerning the goings on of the mist village, having been incredibly startled by his masters silent entrance and even more so by the order.

"I haven't all day, Kabuto." Orochimaru sneered, and relaxed finally when the report was extended towards him, taking it with a fluid twist of his wrist and continued to eye the doctor until the otonin pushed up his glasses and looked away. Taking it as the submissive sign he'd been waiting for, Orochimaru turned and left the room with a sweep of his long dark hair. He heard a murmured cursed somewhere behind him and smirked, pleased he could still bait Kabuto into doing pretty much anything he wanted him to and still get such reactions. The boy had a whip for a tongue and Orochimaru greatly enjoyed their verbal dances, skittering around each other and barbing with clipped voices and forced respect on one side- it was simply a delight.

Orochimaru slithered through the large double doors that led to his chambers, engraved with a thousand ornate snakes and slid them shut, nodding in an approving fashion as the lock gave a satisfying click into place. He paced across the floor towards where the mahogany desk sat against the wall, lighting several candles to relieve the gloom of the underground. It didn't help much, but at least he could now see what it was he was supposed to be reading now. He was concerned a great deal about the mist village, and whether or not they would be allying with him. They weren't all that important to him really, what was important to him was establishing to location of the 7 swordsmen, and if he had to be allied with such a disgraceful village as mist to do it, then so be it…. Such is life.

The sannin stilled his fingers from rifling through the papers in favor of listening, his head slightly turned as he tried to hear it again. There it was- the ever so soft swish of a cloak followed by a scent he knew only too well. That was the only warning he got before the hands had grabbed his shoulders and twisted him around, slamming his back against the wall. Orochimaru was vaguely aware that his hard earned papers had dropped and were scattered on the floor by the leg of the desk now and that a candle had tipped over and snuffed out, but he could tell even in the diminished light who it was. Lips crushed together hard enough for their teeth to connect, almost painful with the need coursing between them. When the mouth moved down to suck greedily on his throat, Orochimaru raised his head against the wall to give him better access to it, another grin alighting his features as his eyes burned with passion and welcome.

"Not even going to buy me dinner first, Itachi-kun?" Orochimaru wondered playfully, his arms rising to lock tightly around the Uchiha's neck and turning his head to the side in order to pull the buttons of the akatsuki cloak apart with his tongue. Itachi had lifted him up, so he wound his long legs around the others back to hold himself up with his back pressing harder against the wall. The Uchiha offered no response and Orochimaru hadn't expected or even really desired one, caught up in the feeling of Itachi's nails scraping against his hips while the mouth continued to attack his neck and collarbone.

Orochimaru slipped his hands under the cloak to Itachi's muscular back, raking his sharp nails down the curved shoulder blades and drawing a breathy groan from his lover in return. He sucked on the side of Itachi's jaw, determined to leave some kind of mark then jumped just a little when the Uchiha's hand came up and slapped him hard across the face. With his head angled away and the stinging beginning in his cheek, Orochimaru soon growled and whipped his head back, promising murder for the strike but faltered when he saw those eyes again. Narrowed and dark, the desire churning within them was almost palpable, but there was a playful twinge of good humor behind them, and Orochimaru soon realized that the slap had been purely foreplay. He shouldn't get upset about it, and now that he actually looked at it that way, it had felt rather nice. It sending fiery shivers down his neck to his spine and lit up the sensitive nerves of his sex, so he tightened his legs around the Uchiha's waist and allowed Itachi to plunder his mouth again.

This was normal… these nights. Itachi had the strangest habit of showing up when Orochimaru was particularly stressed out or alone, and part of the sannin was grateful for the company. The other part- the dominant part- refused to believe that he was actually looking forward to the days that he sent his sound five off on patrols and kabuto was too busy to bother him. Itachi would take him wherever they happened to meet, in the hallway or in the lab, against the wall, it didn't matter to the two lovers. Once Itachi had come to him while he was in the shower, but that had not ended well… slippery wet floor with the addition of two struggling, intertwining males had been a bad idea before it had even started, and Orochimaru had been scowling for the duration of the next day, nursing a bruise on his head and refusing to talk about it to anyone.

Their meetings varied in length and roughness, sometimes lasting for hours where their undulating bodies would wind around each other in a slow dance of hot breaths and hotter kisses, and other times the friction would rub at their skin while they ground their hips together and threw back their heads in muted howls of pleasure. Orochimaru felt like a different person in those moments, his pale skin glistening with sweat and his hair fanning out in a black halo around his head with the golden snake eyes shut tight. He felt like someone who deserved this, who was dirty and clean both, someone who could simply enjoy this time with another being…

This time when they parted, Itachi set Orochimaru down on his feet and looked into the sated yellow orbs, "… Orochimaru… I need to ask something of you now…"

"hmmm?" the latter of the two drawled, apparently still too content to bother with some kind of snide remark, and Itachi was a little sorry to ruin it. He brushed his fingers over the pale ninja's cheek, shifting the scattered strands of obsidian silk out of his face.

"The time has come for you to save me…" he said softly, and Orochimaru managed to pull himself from his stupor enough to realize there was a glaze over those startlingly dark eyes that he hadn't noticed before, frowning at them, "Tomorrow I go to my death."

"What are you on about?" Orochimaru pushed a narrow hand at Itachi's chest to get enough space between them to pull his pants back up and latch them closed, shaking his long hair out until it settled with some semblance of order, "you cannot be killed."

"You say that with such confidence…"

"Well it's true." Orochimaru shrugged with a fluid shift of his shoulders, stooping to start picking up his report while Itachi fixed his cloak and buttoned his own pants. This conversation felt too simple, like Orochimaru was missing something- and he hated missing things, "don't patronize me Itachi, and just tell me."

"My younger brother will kill me tomorrow… and if he doesn't, someone else will when I finally lose my eyesight…" Itachi sighed when the sannin became very still, releasing the papers to straighten back up and stare at the Uchiha and decide whether or not he was telling the truth. When he saw nothing but seriousness, he took a step forward and grabbed the front of Itachi's mesh shirt, pulling him forward a little and gritting those sharp fangs together.

"What the hell is your problem? You show up one day without explanation and practically rape me, now you stop by whenever you need a booty call just to spring this on me?" he demanded sharply.

"You're not a booty call, Orochimaru." Itachi responded smoothly, but softly and his gaze was lowered in something akin to sadness. He had anticipated this reaction; he should have known the other would be furious.

Orochimaru curled his sharp nails into his palms, his shoulders shaking with rage while he attempted to figure out if he wanted to maim him or not… course if he was going blind, and if the look in his eyes was real, he'd only feel bad for hitting him afterwards so he kept the impulse down. He drew in a slow, deep breath to calm himself down and released the fishnet.

"Will you help me?"

"Of course I will, you stupid boy." The sannin answered rather sharply, but Itachi smiled because he could sense some form of affection behind it. The longer haired man raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes while he thought. What could he do? Itachi already seemed resigned to this fate that he would lose his sight and be killed by the younger Uchiha, and Orochimaru's natural instinct was to deny such a thing. That's just the way he was, and he figured that that was most likely why Itachi had chosen him in the first place- he wasn't deluded enough to believe the uchiha loved him.

Orochimaru finally stirred himself moving his fingers to follow one of the lines beneath Itachi's eye down the left curve of his cheek as though to memorize it. Then he seemed to shake himself, lifting his head with the glowing defiance that Itachi had come to admire so much, "Don't be stupid, you aren't going to die…"

"I deserve to be killed by my brother, but I felt like you should know-" Itachi started, and was abruptly cut off just as quickly.

"Silence. If you are going to say such ridiculous things to me, I'll refuse to help. Now- I'm exhausted, we're going to bed." Orochimaru told him flatly, taking the man by the shoulders and turned him to go back towards the large, round bed.

He pushed, and Itachi allowed himself to fall on his side, kicking off his shoes as Orochimaru climbed up beside him and pulled the blankets over them both. The sannin had a way of quieting his mind in order to sleep- always knowing he'd need to be fully alert the next day, so he fell asleep quite quickly. Itachi on the other hand, lay brooding for hours and watched the serpent sleep. He followed the steady rise and fall of the others shoulders, watching the lips part in an unheard sigh and the pale purple lids flutter occasionally over the piercing golden gems they hid. Itachi ran his fingers through the obsidian locks, watching them pour like water over his hands without tangling, and then looped his arms around the older man's waist, setting their foreheads together. He didn't know what to expect- all he knew was that the next day he would be going up against his younger brother for the last time, and if Orochimaru could not save him, he would die in lonely despair. Perhaps that's what he deserved, but as he watched the angelically demonic face of his lover, so smooth and soft now, he couldn't think that way. The sannin must want him, otherwise he would have fought back by now, or at least tried to take advantage of Itachi when he learned of the latter's decreasing vision…

Did the serpent love the weasel? He didn't know, but he hoped desperately that he did…. Itachi was so tired of being alone….

* * *

**i haven't actually edited this one so hopefully the words are alright... going to be leaving for spring break so chapter three wont come out until next weekend.... reveiw me, or it'll never come out...buahahahaha**

**bye then  
**


	3. Chapter 3 Whisper

**_the next chapter in the laughing corpses series. is it the last chapter? i dont know i haven't written it yet but we'll see...most likely it will be i love this pairing so much..._**

**_unfortunately, i have to warn that there's character death in this one.... sorry peeps... spoilers too. (elbows itachi)  
by the by, in this story for the sake of it, sasuke found an alternate route to get strong and does not know orochimaru personally._**

**_me: *good guy pose*  
orochimaru: "yeah thats.... dont do that...." *lowers my hand slowly while itachi snickers in the background*  
me: "moving right along then...."_**

**_as usual, naruto and its cast dont belong to me, but to masashi kishimoto, who i'm certain would be appalled by what i've done to his characters *grin*  
the story is mine though._**

**_one more thing.... the lyrics are whisper by evanescence, but i though they were fitting.. right well, you dont want to hear any more from me do you? you want to read about the boys *raise eyebrows suggestively*_**

* * *

_catch me as i fall.  
say you're here and it's all over now.  
speaking to the atmosphere,  
no one's here and i fall into myself.  
this truth drives me into madness.  
i know i can stop the pain if i will it all away..._

_don't turn away,  
don't give in to the pain,  
don't try to hide,  
though they're screaming your name.  
don't close your eyes,  
god knows what lies behind them.  
don't turn out the light,  
never sleep never die._

_fallen angels at my feet,  
whispered voices at my ear,  
death before my eyes,  
lying next to me i fear,  
she beckons me shall i give in?  
upon my end shall i begin?  
forsaking all i've fallen for, i rise to meet the end....._

orochimaru wouldn't let itachi out of his sight after that. the uchiha didn't mind, and no one ever questioned his presence within the sound village. to them he was a pet, a toy for orochimaru to play with and entertain himself for a time or even perhaps deal with until he took over his body... little did they know it was the akatsuki in control, who watched over the sannin, who touched the smooth porcelain skin while he slept and buried his face into the crook of the smooth, long neck to whisper sweet nothings as they slept. these were the happiest days of the serpent's life, but something bitter and evil was rising in his mind and his soul...

what had itachi meant before? the uchiha refused to explain anything and orochimaru's sly word manipulations had no effect on the weasel, who knew his tricks well by now and could dodge them without breaking a sweat. how dare he insinuate that he would be leaving orochimaru soon and not even give any kind of explanation or reason. it was driving him insane- an animal in his head that sat screaming at his own reflection, demanding why, while the rest of him clung to any bit of attention he could get out of his lover while he remained.

orochimaru was well aware that he couldn't bare the thought of being left alone again, that he would simply die if that were to happen, but he refused to accept it. he'd gone through this before- he refused to die no matter what, and no matter who's honey sweet words lured him deeper into the dangerous realm of emotions and attachment. the sannin could feel it.. he could sense the end drawing near and every fiber of his being rebelled against it. the dread was crawling beneath his skin, infecting him, biting him... a parasite he couldn't shake for the very life of him. that could be what it came down to- what would he do really if he lost itachi uchiha?

he tried to imagine himself going back to the way it was before... back to his experiments with no idle thoughts of who was waiting for him in his chambers that evening, back to the nightmares, back to waking up alone and screaming until he could stuff his fist between his teeth to stifle it and avoid drawing attention. back to putting on his mask of indifferent superiority, bossing around his ninja with reckless abandon and using their lives to get him-.... get him where? orochimaru could barely even remember his own goal now... what was it..... to live forever? that was part of it, but immortality was a means to the end he couldn't remember. this was incredibly frustrating to him; to the sannin that strove to know everything- oh yes! that's what it was, he wanted to know everything, all the jutsu that the world had to offer...

this goal seemed hallow to him now- what would he do after he had all of this knowledge? decide it would good enough and live his life out in peace? he knew he'd be fighting for the rest of his life, he was going to trample whole villages beneath his feet and then expect them to be fine with it when he wanted to retire and just leave him alone? orochimaru knew better than that....

for two months, the lovers spent every moment they could together. they stood shoulder to shoulder throughout the day and at night would sleep close enough to share breath. how orochimaru craved that jasmine scented air... how he craved the warmth.... what had itachi called it? an addiction to an addiction- that's it... he liked the sound of that, liked the taste of the addiction on his tongue, liked the danger it implied and the risk involved. he was an adrenaline junkie and he knew it, seeking out the next high with the akatsuki he felt like he knew almost everything about. he told itachi everything too, told him everything he kept inside, all the images burned into the back of his eyelids for him to watch everytime he closed his eyes, his stresses, his problems, his insecurities. itachi accepted them all and even improved them. he softened the blow of orochimaru's ever present despair, kissed and soothed away the silent rages and traced his fingers across the smirking lips to smooth them into a real smile.

when the day finally came, orochimaru knew exactly what was going on. he and itachi were too close and he knew it, could feel their connection tingling across his skin any time they were close and now he felt the apprehension and fear slithering between them, sucking on their souls like a feeding leech. itachi was taking it well... he'd already told orochimaru about his brother, about what he'd done to the uchiha clan and how much he still loved his little brother. he had even admitted to the growing blindness in his eyes and orochimaru had very nearly punched him for keeping that information from him that long, but felt it would be a little redundant to punch a half blind man. the uchiha could probably still stop him before the punch connected, but it was the concept of the thing...

despite all of this, orochimaru felt such a heated, boiling jealousy of the younger uchiha he'd only seen once before and given no thought to other than to be vaguely interested in his kekkei genkai. itachi loved the boy before he'd loved orochimaru, and that drove the snake crazy. how could he love someone that was soon to attempt and take his life? it made no sense to orochimaru... that kind of devotion and loyalty, to the point of being so selfless that itachi would never even tell his brother that he loved him, never tell him the real reason he'd destroyed their clan.

as the sannin woke, he at once sensed something was off. itachi was gone, and after some searching orochimaru found him standing outside, bathed in the glow of the early morning light as he stared off towards the rising sun. dew drops glittered on the grass and trees, and orochimaru took a moment to breath in deep the fresh, chilled scent that always accompanied early morning. he liked this smell, one of an untainted new day that he would be able to take over and make his own, a day that he had not thus far ruined by over thinking every step he'd ever made... the snake shook his head, running his long, cunning fingers through his ebony tresses and flipped the dark mane back over his shoulder. he stood beside itachi, who hadn't reacted in any way to his presence but the sanning knew the uchiha was aware of him, and they stared off together at the increasing amount of color in the deep navy sky, stars retreating to sleep to wait out to onslaught of sunlight.

"itachi...." orochimaru started, never hesitant to break any kind of silence they had. his lover was prone to falling into such deep reverie that it sometimes took the otokage some minutes to regain his attention, but today he would not let the raven haired man stay in that stupor for long, or at all. today was not a day for wondering what was going on behind onyx eyes, today was not a day for watching...

"...yes, orochimaru?" itachi responded smoothly, and the sound ninja had to work to suppress the usual thrill of excitement he always got when he heard his own name coming from those velvet smooth lips and the barely-there roll of the 'r' on the talented, hidden tongue.

"do you love me?"

"why do you ask...?"

"if you loved me, you wouldn't leave me here alone again...." itachi turned to look at him, but orochimaru didn't take his eyes off the sky- it would be too easy to get lost in the fathomless black and he needed to focus on this, it was very important.

"leave you...?"

"don't play stupid itachi, i know you're far from that. you cant leave me... you've shown me such things and you have to promise me that tomorrow, you will wake up beside me and we'll do something together, we'll run away from this place, from villages and selfishness and from those corpses..."

"you and the corpses..." itachi sighed a little, but orochimaru could sense no real protest in his tone, and his resolve was faltering at just how sad and resigned the uchiha was, "why do you think they accuse you so... why do you think they are laughing?"

"they're always laughing, because they know what i've done... they are mocking how weak i am, mocking my loneliness, my utterly pathetic attempts to extend my own life..." itachi had successfully distracted him, but the snake was quick to pull them back onto topic, "promise me itachi."

the uchiha moved around to stand before the otokage, and they stared into each others' eyes for a long moment. each waited for the other to falter or back down, but neither did and neither wanted the other to either. finally, a gentle smile touched the velvet lips and orochimaru felt an enormous sense of relief when the shorter haired man nodded.

"very well. tomorrow we'll run away, i promise..."

"cross your heart..." orochimaru ordered somewhat childishly, and earned a small laugh- but to his pleasure the uchiha complied and drew a cross shape over the left side of his chest. maybe he was humoring orochimaru, but it made the both of them feel a little better about facing the day and made things just a little easier, made their feet a little lighter as they moved to go back inside.

some hours later, itachi went missing again and orochimaru tore the underground compound apart looking for his lover. something was horribly wrong... he felt it churning through his gut like one of his famous snakes had gone rogue and was devouring him from the inside out. nervousness intertwined with desperation, and soon he was tearing down the hallway, calling itachi's name and disregarding anyone who might hear him as his hair billowed out like black ribbons behind him. he ran from the compound, searching back and forth across the field and oblivious to the small droplets of water beginning to sprinkle his face. it had started off as such a nice day, but the clouds were moving in and beginning to open up. how orochimaru hated the rain, but he didn't think of that now as he tore apart the training grounds in search of the other male and impatiently shook his wet bangs out of his golden eyes. when kimimaru jumped down beside him, he very nearly shook the tired looking ninja- how he treasured kimimaru for his blunt honesty, quickness, and lack of unnecessary remarks but now he just wanted to shake the younger, paler ninja until he spat it out.

"i have located itachi uchiha..." he was saying, and orochimaru engaged his interest away from the forest in favor of staring expectantly at the sick boy, "he went down to the waterfall nd met the younger uchiha there-"

the otokage was moving before kimimaru had even finished- the waterfall was all he'd needed to know. he moved as fast as he could push himself, mentally cursing his own selfishness for the nap he'd taken earlier that had allowed itachi to slip away unchallenged. the rain was really coming down now, pouring down his back and sticking his clothes to his body as he practically flew through the branches, letting them whip wetly against his skin but leaving no actual marks there. when he could hear the roar of the waterfall, he put on an extra burst of speed and slid to a stop when he reached the war zone. the younger uchiha was gone- and a good thing too, otherwise orochimaru would have fallen upon him like an owl upon its prey and ripped him apart regardless of if his mate loved the boy or not. he shoved aside a few rocks, jumped over a boulder and came to a complete stop when he found his lover. itachi was sitting on the ground, leaning back against a rock but his hands were limp between his thighs and his head was down, bangs overcasting his eyes and water dripping from them. orochimaru fell to his side and reached out to take a hold of his shoulders very carefully, shifting him around so itachi finally collapsed against the otokage's chest, only then did the serpent see the dark streaks of blood across the boulder where he'd been leaning. streams of it mixed with water and ran around their feet, and when orochimaru looked at his own hand, his palm was coated in it. panicked now, he set his hand against itachi's cheek to turn his face up towards his own, whispering his name. his eyes were open just a little, but glazed over and he remained unresponsive, so orochimaru's begging grew a little louder.

"itachi!" he finally yowled, almost angry but all of that rage vanished when the hand lying on the ground twitched a bit at his name. itachi stirred, and the glaze cleared from the onyx orbs enough to be able to focus, but the lids themselves did not open any wider, "itachi.... hold on and i'll get you home..."

those lips he loved so much had blood in the corner, and it leaked free now to drip across his cheek. orochimaru could feel himself loathing that color, the color of the liquid dripping from itachi's right eye, the color that tainted the ground around them that the pouring rain was trying to desperately to wash away before it could become a dark stain. next came the loathing for the rain itself- how dare it try to erase this evidence, to erase this crime against the one person who understood....

those lips had moved, and turned into a very slight smile. instead of speaking, he coughed a bit and orochimaru lifted his sleeve to wipe away the bubble of dark blood that rose up because of it. itachi mouthed something that the sannin didn't quite catch, then the broken form in his arms shuddered once and became still.

panic turned to an eerie calmness as orochimaru set his fingers over the uchiha's eyes and carefully slid the lids down over them, shutting off the light, shutting off the life, shutting off the love. there was nothingness. there was nothing in this corpse, no accusation and no hope. an empty shell that orochimaru clung to now, held tightly as he waited. what was he waiting for? did he think itachi was toying with him? would the uchiha come back?

"itachi....?" orochimaru asked quietly, and when he received no response he said it again. on the third try, he still couldn't summon the scream out that was building in his chest like a caged, dying thing, "itachi... you promised me.... we're going to leave tomorrow, right? we're going to run away from it all so we can be together.. so no one can find us... so the corpses wont..."

he continued in this fashion long after night had fallen and the cold had soaked into the very marrow of his bones. there was no warmth from this body that he was embracing anymore, no comfort except in the physical sense that he was still holding onto him. how could itachi not be here anymore? he had a hold of him, he was right here, so how could he be elsewhere? surely he would stay as long as orochimaru clung to him and refused to let go? he kept talking to the uchiha, explaining all the things they would do when they were free and the things they could learn together.... he told him he loved him countless times.... but soon sickness crept over him from the wet and the cold, and while he was delirious in fever he wasn't even aware when kimimaru came to him. the bone wielder pried orochimaru from the corpse and picked up the otokage, carrying him back to the sound village and said nothing even while the sannin continued to speak to the corpse with his face against the white haired ninja. when they got back, and the rain was no longer dampening his senses, orochimaru realized the warmth was not the same- and this was not the smell of jasmine surrounding him, but a kind of pine like tinge instead. the otokage lost it then.... that scream in his chest finally exploded and he let out a cry of pure despair that tore its way out of his throat, his head tipped back as he howled his grief at the heavens that offended him. kimimaru stayed with orochimaru all night, but after he'd cried out, the otokage had retreated into his own mind. he lay on the bed, head turned to the side as his fever became steadily worse, feeling no will to keep going.

what had itachi said to him? god's... what had it been? orochimaru needed to know, and that obsession was the only thing keeping him alive now. there were no tears, but the water constantly burned behind his dull yellow eyes anyway, his skin beginning to lose its vibrant alabaster luster.

after three days of hallucinations, and refusing any kinds of medication from kabuto, orochimaru was finally alone. kabuto had led kimimaru away, knowing the bone ninja was worried but also knowing with that shrewd intelligence of his that their master was already long gone from them. for three days, he kept waiting for 'tomorrow'. the dark haired ninja lay alone, staring into the black shadows of his room and replaying the image of itachi's moving lips- the last time they would ever move- and desperately trying to decipher the silent words when it finally clicked.

_you've saved me......_

as this realization came upon him, drab gold eyes focused on a spot of shadow darker than the rest, which gradually took the shape similar to slanted almonds and the soft lips appeared in a pale face. raven hair fell loose around a proud expression, and warm fingers wrapped around orochimaru's hand, pulling him close. the lovers embraced, and were oblivious to the startled realization of those in the real world- they didn't matter... nothing mattered but for the warmth encasing the two of them.... and a laugh bubbled to the surface of orochimaru's lips, echoing in the otherwise deathly silent room before finally fading off into a contented stillness...

and together, they fled into the night.

* * *

**_okay so... originally, neither were supposed to die... buuutttt... i dunno, the keyboard ran away with me i guess, got carried off somewhere. pelase review... if enough people cry, maybe i'll make an addition chapter for like an alternate ending or something.... hm... *shrug*_**

**_not gonna lie, i cried... listening to emo music writing this... bad idea.. try to move on then. *cuddles itachi and orochimaru*_**


End file.
